Desiccator unit



July 29, 1958 R. A. GAGEBY DESICCATOR UNIT Filed Dec. 27, 1955 IN V ENTOR.

prroe/va s United States atent DESICCATOR UNIT Robert Gageby, WoodlandHills, Califl, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Wells IndustriesCorporation, North Hollywood, 'Calif., a corporation of CaliforniaApplication December 27, 1955, Serial No. 555,336

3 Claims. (Cl. 183-43) The present iriventionjrelates to desiccatorunits in general and particularly to a desiccator unit constructed anddesigned to be incorporated into a fluid system operating under pressureof many thousand pounds. More specifically the invention comprises adesiccator unit in which a replaceable hygroscopic cartridge isrernovably positioned Within a high pressure resistant casin'g'providedwith means by which fluid-conducting openings are formed in the oppositeends of the cartridge to open it to the how of fluid through the casing.

In many operations it is desirable that a gas under pressure hefree'frorn moisture or a foreign undesirable gas or substance. Theremoval of moisture may be viewed as typical and in this disclosure willbe dis- "cussed. For this purpose a unit known as a desiccator unit isplaced in the line of gas flow to remove from "the gas stream themoisture or foreign gas. At times the host gas may be under highpressure ranging, for "example, from one to twenty'thousand pounds persquare inch or more. The desiccant unit must be able to operfa'te'underthese conditions. Because'a desiccant becomes exhausted after a 'periodofoperate use, it must be replaced. It is important thatit remainsealeduntil actually fplaced in use in. order that it may have maximum enema/ases and life. The desiccator unit constructed in accordance with thepresent invention 'iscapable of;

functioning 'under extremely high pressures and is so constructed thatthe desiccant cartridjge is inserted in its sealed eondition into theunit casing and thereafter opened for 'dhef firs t' time.

7 @Beferrihg now to the drawing in which a. preferred mb ment of thepresent invention is illustrated:

-Ei'gure 1'is a longitudinal section through a desiccatorunitcon'structe'd in accordancewith the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end view looking in the direction of the arrows upon the"line 2 2 *of Fig'ure l; and

Figure 3 is a transverse section upon the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Referring again't'o the drawing, a desiccator unit oon- -structed inaccordance with the presentinvention is indigo'atedjgerieiially"by'thereference character 10 and is seen to comprise 'an "elongated metal body11,. p1f efe"r'ahly cylindrical, sufliciiitl'ystron'g as "to withstandhigh internal fluid pressures. Body 11 is of increased wall thickness atits opposite ends 12 and 13, the latter being formed with a transversethreaded port opening 14 adapted to seat the threaded end of a pipeforming a part of the fluid conduit system. End 12 is interiorly groovedat 16 a short distance from its extremity while end 13 is interiorlythreaded at 17. End 12 of the body 11 is closed by a permanentlypositioned end closure member indicated generally by the referencecharacter 18, while opposite end 13 is closed by a removable closuremember indicated generally by the reference character 19. Closuremembers 18 and 19 define the ends of a chamber in casing 11 in which ispositioned the desiccant cartridge indicated generally by the referencecharacter 20.

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Referring now "in particular to end closure 18, that member is seen tocomprise a wall-like body 22 circumferentially grooved at 23 to seat anO-ring sealing unit 24 and formed centrally upon its exterior face withan axially projecting nipple 26 which is interiorly threaded at 28 inorder to seat threadedly, and in sealed fluidtight relationship, afluid-conducting conduit. Body 22,

'includingnipple 26, is centrally bored at 27, the bore upon its innerface a plate 34 formed at spaced points around its periphery withforwardly projecting pointed teeth 36. Plate 34 is secured to flangeelement Sites by means of rivets 37 and the two members, formingacartridge-perforating means or perforator, are retained relative tothebody 22 by screws 38.

Closure member 18 is prevented from longitudinal displacement from theend 12 of the body llby retaining means comprising a split ring 41expanded in place in the groove 16 by an inner wire spring 42. It is,

additionally, held against movement into body 11 by the abutment of body22 with internal shoulder 43 on casing body 11. v v

Removable closure member 19 closingthe end 13 of casing 11 comprises abody 46 formed with an encircling channel 47, with a relatively narrowcircumferential i groove 48, and at its inner end with an open-sidedgnoove forming an O-ring seat 49. I I

Sealing O-rih'gs are positioned in the circumferential grooves 48 and49, as shown in Figure l, the firstmentioned O-ri'n'g bein'g'indicatedby the reference character'S Iiand the second by the reference character52.

Asis seen in Figure 1, with closure 19 seated in body 11 the 'radialport 14 opens into the circumferential channel "47 and the internalports 53 connect the latter to the chamber formed between the closuremembers 18 and I9. I I

As is seen most clearly in Figure 1, body 46 of closure member '1'9,iscounterbored on its inner face and is centrally threaded at 56 to seatfixedly an inwardly projecting post 5'7. A perforator member is carriedby postf57 and comprises a central cylindrical sleeve 54, whichfseatsslidingly upon post "57 and a .pluralityof inwardly projecting curvedprongs or teethmembers 55 pointed at theirv forward ends. A coil spring58 encircles post within the counterbore of body 46, contacts the bodyancl exerts a force against the vperforator urging the latterinwardly. Alock ring 59 near the end -ofthe post 57 prevents displacement-of theperforator.

Upon its exterior face, body 46 of closure member 19 is formed with aflat-ended projecting nipple 61, which projects centrally from asurrounding end surface 62. Abutting the end surface 62 is a retainingring 63 exteriorly threaded and seated in threaded engagement with thethreads 17 of body 11 with its outer face lying in substantially thesame plane as the end of nipple 61. A flat cover or cap 64 abuts the endof nipple 61 and is retained thereon by means of a small set screw 66,the periphery of the cover 64 being flanged and telescoping for a shortdistance the end 13 of body 11.

Two or more screw members 67 extend through the cover 64 and seatthreadedly in the ring 63 and provide means by which the latter may berotated by a suitable wrench or other tool in order to advance the ring63 into the body 11 and so force the closure member body 46 inwardly.

The cartridge unit 20 which is positioned in the casing 11 and in thechamber formed between the closure members 18 and 19 is preferably asheet metal member of a cross section conforming closely to the interiorcross section of the body 11. It is adapted to be positioned therein bybeing advanced through the end 13 with the closure member 19 removed.Unit 20 comprises a longitudinally extending exterior sheet-metal wall71 closedv at its opposite ends by sheet-metal walls 72 positionedslightly within the length of the body 71. Spaced inwardly from the endwalls 72 are perforated walls 73 which are spaced inwardly from endwalls 72 and which form the desiccant-containing chamber. A suitablebody 74 of gas-permeable closely-packed material such as fiberglass ispositioned inside each perforated wall 73 and serves to prevent thedesiccant 76, which may be granular, from filtering through theapertures in the wall 73. One end of the unit 20 preferably abuts theflange plate 33 while the opposite end seats in sealing contact with theO-ring 52 carried by closure member 19. When so p sitioned betweenclosure members 18 and 19, with the latter retained in place asillustrated, and as previously described, thet length of the body of thedesiccant cylinder or cartridge 20 is such that the teeth 36 and 55,respectively, of the perforating units of the respective end closures 18and 19 have penetrated the end walls 72 at the opposite ends of thecartridge and, because the individual teeth of the perforators aresloped, have torn openings through which gas can flow.

The desiccant unit constructed in accordance with the present inventionis adapted to be mounted as desired. In the form illustrated, saitablebrackets 78 are supported by posts 79 and carry straps 80 which encirclethe body 11 in supporting relationship.

The installation of a desiccant cartridge 20 in the unit constructed inaccordance with the present invention is a simple operation. A suitabletool capable of engaging the projecting ends of screws 67 is used andthe ring 63 is rotated, the set screw 66 first being loosened, ifdesired, to permit this rotation without the turning of the body 46 atclosure 19. If the body 46 of member 19 is not too tightly wedged in theend 13, it can be drawn outwardly as the ring 63 is retracted, but inthe event it is frozen in place the set screw 66 is removed and the ring63 and cover 64 firs removed, following which the body 46 can be pulledfrom the casing 11 as by first threading a bolt into the threaded seatformerly occupied by the set screw 66 and then exerting a withdrawalforce upon the bolt. Upon the removal of closure 19, the unit 20 is slidfrom the open end of body 11.

A fresh unit 20 with sealed ends can then be inserted and advanced intobody 11 until its forward end wall 72 contacts the ends of the teeth 36.The body 46 of closure member 19 is then re-positioned, the contact ofthe ends of teeth 55 serving to compress the spring 58 somewhat. Theretaining ring 63 is then seated and rotated, forcing the closure body46 inwardly and the cartridge longitudinally of the cylinder body 11.The sharpened teeth 36 and 55 penetrate the opposite end walls 72 in themanner illustrated in Figure 1. The retaining ring 63 forming a part ofthe closure member 19 is tightened to its end position, the set screw 66is tightened, and the unit is ready for use. The flow of fluid throughthe unit is between the port 27 in the closure member 18, through thedesiccant cartridge 20, through the ports 53 into the channel 47, andthen through the port 14.

While the particular apparatus herein shown and disclosed in detail isfully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantageshereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merelyillustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention andthat no limitations are intended to the details of construction ordesign herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A high-pressure desiccator unit adapted for use in a gas lineoperating under thousands of pounds pressure and arranged to be servicedquickly in the field without special tools, said unit comprising athick-walled cylinder with a central bore of uniform diameter adapted tohouse a normally sealed desiccant cartridge easily punctured as anincident of assembly to said unit, removable sealing plugs closing theopposite ends of said cylinder including an infrequently removed firstplug and a quickly removable second plug, said first plug having a snugsliding fit with the wall of said bore and an O-ring filled grooove inits peripheral side wall cooperating with said bore wall to provide areadily-separable high-pressure seal with said bore wall, the outer endof said bore having an annular groove of rectangular cross-sectionopening radially inward immediately adjacent the exterior radial face ofsaid first plug, a keeper ring of high shear strength formed in aplurality of segments adapted for assembly into said groove with theinner rim thereof overlapping the outer rim of said first plug, and areadily removable spring keeper for holding the segments of said keeperring assembled within said groove.

2. A high-pressure desiccator unit as defined in claim 1 wherein saidfirst plug has an outwardly extending boss centrally thereof providedwith a threaded passage opening into the interior of said cylinder, theexterior surfaces of said boss being spaced radially inwardly of saidkeeper ring segments and of said keeper spring and providing a minimumof interference with the assembly and disassembly of said keeper ringcomponents.

3. A high-pressure desiccator unit as defined in claim 1 wherein saidremovable closure plugs both carry sharppronged punch means on theirinterior walls operable to puncture the end walls of a desiccatorcartridge as said second plug is pressed axially to its fully assembledposition, and means resiliently biasing each of said sharppronged meansinto vibration-proof seating engagement with the opposite ends of saidcartridge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,398,830 Hamilton Apr. 23, 1946 2,487,620 Waller Nov. 8, 1949 2,751,999Semon June 26, 1956

